LLOG Exploration and partners have sanctioned the Stonefly development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM), the Louisiana-headquartered company said.

The two-well Stonefly, located in the Viosca Knoll area of the central GoM, will be developed as a subsea tieback to the Talos Energy-owned Ram Powell platform, LLOG said Sept. 4 in an operational update. The decision to sanction the deepwater discovery comes about two years after a well drilled by LLOG struck oil-bearing sands in the Middle Miocene. A second well drilled in 2017 also hit pay.

If all goes as planned, production is set to begin around December 2019, LLOG said.

Stonefly partners include Beacon Offshore Energy Operating, Houston Energy, Red Willow Offshore and Ridgewood Energy.